


Finding Steele and Moon

by EternalSurvivor



Series: Shinobi Don't Promise [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Adoption, Canon-Typical Violence, Childhood Trauma, Families of Choice, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kid Fic, Mother Hen Shiranui Genma, Orphans, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2020-11-24 11:47:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20907149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternalSurvivor/pseuds/EternalSurvivor
Summary: Genma didn't expect his redemption to come in the form of two homeless orphans.





	1. His Redemption

**Author's Note:**

> This is an accompanying side-story to my ongoing series Shinobi Don't Promise. It is apart of that world, but I am writing this as a stand-alone. You don't have to read the larger series to get what's going on here. 
> 
> For those interested, timeline-wise, this coincides with Chapters 2-4 of Fragmentary Assurances. 
> 
> POSSIBLE TRIGGER WARNING: Reference to child abuse and neglect post-terrorist attack as well as a trauma-induced nightmare. Please take care while reading.

The first time he spotted them, three weeks had passed since the Kyuubi rampaged through Konoha. Two haggard kids, every bit as dirty and exhausted as him, but for very different reasons. Genma’s chest clenched, his heart pounding hard in his ears at the mere sight of them. They’d clearly fallen through the cracks in wake of the disaster, disappeared much as he’d done.

Genma let himself get lost in the faceless masks of ANBU, let the guilt - _ the loss _ \- of Minato-sama overwhelm him. Even as Sandaime-sama handed him down his first mission post-disaster, Genma was lost.

Lost in his failures, in the memories that haunted his every waking moment.

The Yondaime took a huge risk, picking a sixteen-year-old kid for his Guard Platoon. The ink was still fresh on his new promotion to tokubetsu jounin when he received the call. A personal summons from the newly appointed Hokage, Minato Namikaze.  


He’d been scared shitless, even more so when the offer was presented to him, Raidou Namiashi and Iwashi Tatami. If Genma was a kid, then Iwashi was just a babe. A chunin way too young, baby fat still clinging to his cheeks, a tiny powerhouse that barely came up to Genma’s shoulder. One of those young prodigies the whispers claimed.  


Minato-sama’s Guard Platoon was all under eighteen. Genma’s head spun the first time he realized that. Surely there were better, more capable candidates for such a high profile position than them, than  _ him. _ Genma still didn’t know what Minato-sama saw in any of them.  


In the end, it didn’t matter. One look at those gentle blue eyes and Genma believed. He would protect his leader -his kind, selfless, _ terrifying  _ Hokage- with his very life.

Only, he hadn’t.  


Barely a year on the job and Minato-sama was dead -his wife was dead, his son orphaned, and his village destroyed.  


Genma hadn’t done the one thing he was supposed to. He’d blown it, let down the one person, besides his beautiful angel Shizune, who believed in him wholeheartedly. Who was he kidding?  _ I was never good enough. _ Sandaime-sama retained his old Guard Platoon, so Genma lost himself in ANBU. The Kitsune mask was penance for his abhorrent failures.  


What good was a shinobi would couldn’t do his job?  


Food tasted like lead on his tongue, not that hunger ever came. Genma ate for Shizune, for Raidou, for Iwashi who stuck to them like a lost puppy after the attack, and the worried looks his friends sent him when they thought he wasn’t watching. The guilt ate at him, clawed at his insides, haunted both his unconscious and waking thoughts. He didn’t sleep much. When he did, Minato-sama stood before him with a gaping hole in his chest and laughing blood.  


It ran down his chin like a waterfall, twisting that once kind smile, so red, red, red-

-Genma woke screaming and clawing at his face each and every time. Raidou was there,  _ always there _ , to pull his hands away and slap some sense into him. “Get it together,” he’d yell through the panic-stricken fog of Genma’s mind. “You’re needed too much to lose it right now, Gen. We’re shinobi, we endure.”  


Where the hell would he be without his best friend? With Shizune’s letters? Without Iwashi who looked at him from the doorway, half scared and always concerned.

What he wouldn’t give to have Shizune in his arms.  


So he pulled the pieces together, held them tight with the determination Raidou’s actions, Shizune’s words, and the worry of Iwashi’s young eyes gave him. He was needed. He didn’t know why, or by who, but he would be ready when the opportunity presented itself.  


His chance for redemption, salvation.

Genma didn’t expect it to come in the form of two homeless orphans.  


With a bouquet of lilies in his arms, he’d fought himself every step to the Memorial Stone that day. The funerals were done and over with. Every lost soul was buried in the cold, unforgiving ground. Those alive were left to pick up the pieces, to rebuild the village and some semblance of a normal life once again.

He wasn’t the only one to lose someone he loved. The ones who lost entire families even called him lucky. Heck, Genma mourned someone the entire village did, the Yondaime Hokage. Their fearless, selfless leader. Only, to him, Minato-sama was so much more than just a title. He was the man who drooled on official documents after passing out at his desk. He was the clutz who always banged his knee on the exact same spot. The nerd who got excited over fuinjutsu textbooks. The big brother who always had a kind word, an encouraging smile or a gentle touch.  


_ The person he failed the most.  
_

And yet, as Raidou said, he was needed. His reason for hanging on was huddled together before the Memorial Stone, on their knees, thin arms wrapped tightly around each other. Trembling and dirty, grime and dried blood coating ripped clothed that had seen better days. They were so filthy, he couldn’t tell the colour of their hair.  


_ Gremlins,  _ his mind supplied unhelpfully,  _ they look like dirty little gremlins. _

The kids were talking in low, hushed voices, unaware of his approach. The exhaustion and hunger probably had something to do with that. They clearly hadn’t had a safe place to rest, let alone a decent meal or bath, in the last few weeks.   


“It’ll be okay, Izumo. We’ll just lay low and wait it out,” One said to the other. “Then everything will be okay.”

Genma blew his bangs from his face. “If that’s your plan, you’re doing a pretty bad job at keeping hidden.” He sounded tired, even to his own ears. The fatigue tugged at his limbs, seemed to go bone-deep. No matter, everyone was exhausted right now. Every shinobi had a part to play if Konoha was to be rebuilt.  


He was no different.

The reaction was immediate. Both boys leapt to their feet, hands clenched tightly together. When they turned to him, he could just make out their pale faces beneath the layers of grime. “W-What do you want?” The one dubbed Izumo demanded.  


He’s thought them close to puberty, but those wide, hollow eyes made Genma reassess his judgement. “Just came to pay my respects.” He held up the lilies, then motioned with the bouquet towards the obelisk.  


“...You’re ANBU.” The other murmured in terrified awe.  


A quick glance down confirmed the kid’s declaration. Well heck, he forgot to change out of his uniform.  _ I haven’t exactly been thinking straight the last few weeks.  _ With a sigh, Genma scrubbed a hand through his brown hair. “Must be more tired than I thought.” Half dried blood splattered in patches across his grey flak jacket, his kitsune mask rested on its clip at his hip. He’d just returned from an S-rank mission and had three hours before he was scheduled to leave on his next.  


It was a miracle he hadn’t started confusing his head with his ass yet.

The boys stared at him, a strange mix of awe and fear in their eyes. They remained planted on the spot, simply clinging to each other tighter when Genma stepped forward and placed the lilies before the Memorial Stone. A whole column of fresh names stared back at him, more and more added by the day as bodies were uncovered from the ensuing rubble.  


Too-large eyes bore into him suspiciously as he rubbed a kink from his neck. Watching the pair from the corner of his eye, Genma sighed around his senbon. His hand dropped to his side. They looked about as good as he felt. “You need a bath.”  


The bolder of the two bristled, dirt-coated face contorting into an angry scowl. “Well excuse us! We ain’t all lucky enough to be active shinobi yet.”  


“Kotetsu,” Izumo hissed as he clasped his friend’s shoulder. It didn’t take an ANBU to pick up on the fear laced through that warning. So they  _ were _ Academy students. Probably close to graduation if their size was any indication. Only half the school lay in ruins from a stray Kyuubi tail. It would take months to get it up and running again.  


Kotetsu jerked his arm from his friend’s hold. “Don’t gimme that tone, Zumo.” A finger jabbed at Genma’s chest. “He gets clean clothes, food, probably has a safe place to sleep too. He ain’t suffering at all, but he’s got the  _ gall _ to be a jackass to us?” Those dark eyes turned on Genma, blazing with raw emotion that had very little to do with anger and everything to do with the loss, grief, hopeless, the kid forced down. “Bullshit. It’s all  _ bullshit _ .”  


Genma took a step back, hands raised in defence. “Hey now, I-”

“None of that matters and you know it!” Balling his hands into fists, Izumo stopped one foot on the ground. “No one cares and getting mad at an  _ ANBU _ isn’t going to change that!”

“It’s not fair!”

“So what? Nothing’s going to change. You’re all I got left and you go picking fights with ANBU?! Do you  _ wanna  _ get taken away? Is that it?!”

With clenched teeth, Kotetsu stared down at the ground. “...No.”

The senbon clicked between clenched teeth when Genma sucked in a sharp breath. Something heavy settled into the pit of his stomach, twisting uncomfortably. They’d lost everyone. That’s why there were at the Memorial Stone, why they looked so haggard. Shit, kids their age shouldn’t be on their own. It was hard enough seeing Kakashi and Iwashi struggle.  


Was there no one to take care of them? Why the hell weren’t they at the orphanage with the other kids?  


_ You know why, _ a small voice in the back of his head supplied.  _ It’s overflowing with children from the attack. Everything is utter chaos over there.  
_

They’re all alone.

Genma found himself reaching for his supply holster before he realized it. “Here,” pulling two ration bars from the pouch, he tossed one to each boy. Damn, they were teary-eyed. This wouldn’t do at all. “They taste like cardboard, but they’re good nutrient supplements.”  


Izumo and Kotetsu caught the bars on impulse. Good reflexes meant there was no muscle deterioration from lack of food yet, there was still hope for these two. Kotetsu eyed him suspiciously, even as Izumo almost devoured the bar whole. “What’s the catch?”

Genma shrugged, his senbon bobbing as he spoke. “No catch, I just know what it’s like to be hungry.”

The kid’s brows knitted together, mistrust etched into his facial features. It was the loud grumble of his stomach that finally had Kotetsu ripping into his ration bar. Genma shoved his hands into his pockets, fighting down the dread silently rising in his chest. He knew when he tossed the bars to them, that sliver of kindness wouldn’t be enough. These boys were teetering on a precipice, one that could make or break their future.

It was in that moment Genma realized he’d already made his choice. “Come on, I’ve only got about two hours.” He ruffled their hair on the way by, briefly noting how his fingers got caught in the matted locks.  


Two sets of bony hands raised to their heads. Izumo and Kotetsu eyed him warily, hesitant. Genma couldn’t blame them, not after all the shit they’d probably seen the last few weeks. Kids their age shouldn’t have the look of veteran jounin in their eyes.  


Kotetsu took a protective step in front of Izumo. “Why the heck should we trust you? We don’t know who you are.”

He grinned then, senbon clicking between his teeth as he turned to face them. Was that all? A problem easily resolved. “The name’s Genma Shiranui, tokubetsu jounin, a former member of the Hokage Guard Platoon, age seventeen. And you guys?”  


Two jaws went slack and two sets of eyes stared at him as if he’d just grown a second head. They looked to each other for guidance, then back at him with identical looks of puzzlement. “...Izumo Kamizuki, Academy student, age eleven.”  


“Zumo!” His friend growled in anger. “Don’t trust this guy. He’ll report us and we’ll get dragged back to the damn orphanage.”

“We have to start trusting someone soon, Ko, or we’re not going to make it.” Izumo fisted his hands into the hem of his shirt. “Why not Shiranui-san? He gave us food.”

Genma clenched his senbon between his teeth when Kotetsu’s eyes suddenly brimmed with unshed tears. “...What if you get hurt again?” he asked quietly.  


_ What?  _ Genma saw red, the urge to protect these two helpless  _ kids _ almost overwhelming. He  _ knew _ how people hurt war orphans but never expected to run across that type of behaviour in his village, especially after such a devastating disaster. Konoha was supposed to be better than that.  _ I’ll gut whoever touched him. _

Izumo looked down at his feet. “I-”

“No one's going to hurt either of you ever again,” Genma found himself declaring before he thought the words fully through. “I’ll make sure of that.” Resting a hand lightly on Kotetsu’s shoulder, he gave a light squeeze he hoped to be comforting.  _ ‘Get it together, you’re needed too much’ _ , “You’ve done great looking after your friend, let me help you with that now.”  


Kotetsu’s face scrunched up as he tried to hold back the tears threatening to spill over. “...I’m Kotetsu Hagane, Academy student, I just turned twelve.” He reached for his friend’s hand and held it tightly. “Izumo needs something to eat. H-He hasn’t had food in a few days. I couldn’t find us anything...”  


Bringing a hand to his chin in pretend though, Genma clicked his senbon between his teeth. “How does udon with tuna and daikon salad sound?”

The look of wide-eyed astonishment he got in response almost broke Genma’s heart. He couldn’t bring back what they lost, but maybe, just maybe, he could help them build a better future.


	2. His Gremlins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genma gets Izumo and Kotetsu cleaned up and fed.

The kid came up spluttering when Genma dumped another bucket of warm water over his head. Even soaked, Kotetsu's hair refused to lay flat. It was more gravity-defying than Kakashi's if that was even possible. "Stop it!" The protest only made him roll his eyes.

Squirting another glob of shampoo onto the stubbornly spiky hair, Genma scrubbed until suds covered his hands. "If you want to eat, you'll get clean first. Neither of you is tracking that  _ filth _ into my kitchen." He'd thrown his hair up in a messy bun, flak jacket, arm guards and sandals discarded, pants rolled to his knees and sleeves to elbows.

A loud growl from Kotetsu's stomach had the pre-genin sinking down into the water in defeat. "You aren't this rough with Zumo," he complained loudly.   


"He isn't causing a scene like  _ someone."  _ Genma pulled the plug from the tub for the third time, letting the murky water drain.

Izumo flushed red and scrubbed at his bare arms a bit harder. His hair turned out to be a chocolate brown under all that grime. "I-I like baths."   


Turning the tap on, Genma rinsed his face cloth in the sink and motioned for Kotetsu to turn around. Reluctantly, the kid obeyed. Damn  _ Gremlins _ , both of them.

"...Are you really gonna make us oden?" The hopeful tone to the Kotetsu's voice almost broke his heart. What a damn shame they'd suffered in silence, all alone, for so long.   


"If I have time, yeah. If not, I promise I will as soon as I get back from my mission." Genma gently cleaned Kotetsu's back where he couldn't reach. Several shallow cuts littered the pale skin like he'd been dragged across concrete. The flesh was red and inflamed in places, signs of infection from the lack of appropriate sanitation. "There's plenty of food. You can help yourselves-" Genma stopped mid-sentence at the paled, half-panicked looks being shot his way.

"You're leaving us?" Kotetsu's muscles went taut beneath the tokubetsu jounin's hand.

"Y-You can't, Shiranui-san!" Izumo almost wailed, dark eyes glassy with barely contained tears.   


_ What the…?  _ That was not the reaction he'd been expecting. Genma opened his mouth to tell them he'd be back in a few days, not to worry, and clicked his jaw quickly shut around his senbon. There was no guarantee he would. After what they'd witness, the boys knew that all too well.

Genma had no clue who or what they'd lost outside a vague  _ everyone  _ and  _ everything.  _ They carried the same pained, lost look in their eyes he did. Rubbing his nape with a sudsy hand, Genma sighed. Instead of offering words he knew would be taken as nothing more than appeasing, empty platitudes, he offered open arms instead. It was a long shot, but sometimes actions were more comforting than words.  


To his surprise, water sloshed and Genma's ANBU blacks soaked through in a matter of seconds. Two, too-thin forms pressed to sides and hid tears in the wet spandex of his uniform tank. Draping towels around each of their shoulders, Genma ruffled hair finally clean from weeks of accumulated dirt and grime. "My mission's supposed to be short. If I'm gone longer than two weeks, go to the gate guards. Ask for Raidou Namiashi. Tell him ' _ the will-o-wisps no longer follow blindly'.  _ He'll know what it means and he'll help you get set up somewhere safe, okay?"   


"Why would he do that?" Kotetsu's brows knitted together in a way Genma quickly picked up meant ' _ I'm not convinced'. _

The tokubetsu jounin's lips quirked into a wry smile around his senbon. "Cause I'm asking him to. He's my best friend."   


"Okay, Shiranui-san," Izumo mumbled with a resigned resolve.

Genma kept the rage burning in his chest from tensing his muscles or showing on his face. Izumo was far too quiet and not in the shy way his mannerisms made him appear to be. This kind of silence Genma knew intimately, just as he did the suspicion Kotetsu wrestled with. Izumo's quiet was deeply ingrained emptiness, the kind of hollowness left behind when a person's love of life was snuffed out. He placed a hand on the boy's back, still able to feel the slight tremors that seemed a permanent part of Izumo.   


"I laid some clothes out for you on my bed." Genma burned the filthy, parasite-infested  _ rags _ Izumo and Kotetsu were wearing with a katon jutsu as soon as they took them off. How satisfying that was. He needed to buy them clothes anyway. "Go get dressed, I'll see what I can pull together for a quick meal."   


Unfortunately, it took longer to get them clean than it thought. Making oden would have to wait until he got back from his mission. With his limited time quickly dwindling, Genma threw some rice into the cooker, put some chicken bits in a pan to fry, and tossed some leftover miso soup into a pot to reheat. By the time Izumo and Kotetsu poked their heads into the kitchen, Genma was clad in full ANBU gear, kitsune mask clipped to his hip.   


"Well look at that. There are actual kids under all that muck," Genma teased lightly. He set the last bowl of miso soup on his small kotatsu, turning to give them a good look over. They both swam in his clothes, no tactful way around that. Too-large t-shirts hung off their small frames. The collar fell completely off Izumo's shoulder and Kotetsu kept tugging up his shorts. Still, they were clean and dry.

Huge improvement in his humble opinion.   


Genma sat, easing his legs beneath the kotatsu. "Come on." He motioned the pair over. Why they'd frozen in the doorway, he had no damn clue. Being twelve felt like a whole other lifetime ago for him. In some ways, it was. "Don't stand there gawking. I know it's nothing fancy, but I've got twenty minutes. Let's enjoy the meal together."

Kotetsu set his mouth in a firm line, eyes shifting from Genma to the meal and back again. "...We can really eat that?" Izumo reached for his best friend's hand, almost melding to the other boy's side.   


Genma bit the inside of his cheek because that was  _ far  _ too telling. Who the hell tortured starving kids by dangling food in front of them? "Heck yeah, I can't eat this all by myself." He patted the cushion next to him.   


A tense moment passed, then two small bodies scrambled to his side. Tiny feet struck his own beneath the small kotatsu and just like that, they dug into the simple meal.   


A comfortable silence settled over them for a few moments. Genma begrudgingly stuffed rice into his mouth and chugged his miso soup like beer during one of Ensui's drinking contests.   


He dropped his bowl to the kotatsu top with a sigh. Both boys stared at him wide-eyed. "What?" Two sets of eyes averted quickly back to their food. Izumo nibbled on a piece of chicken. Genma grinned and piled his dirty dishes together. "Hope you like it, cause as long as you're staying here, we eat together whenever we can. Shiranui Family rules."

The boys shared a started look. "...Family?" Kotetsu asked around a mouth full of rice.

"Yeah." Genma tugged his hair loose from the bun he'd had it in. Unfortunately, time was up. He had to get going. "It's been a rule since I was a kid, just haven't had anyone to… well, I think you both get it."   


Izumo watched the tokubetsu jounin check over the contents of his weapons holster with his mouth set in a grim line. "You're going now, aren't you?"   


"I have to meet my partner in five minutes." Genma stepped into his shinobi sandals, wiggling them onto his feet. "Stay inside while I'm gone. Keep a low profile until I can get the legalities of you staying here out of the way, okay? I'll be back as soon as I can."   


Hoisting himself up onto the windowsill, he fixed Kushina-san's old  _ kitsune _ mask over his face. When he looked back for a final farewell, Izumo and Kotetsu were watching him from the kotatsu with lost, haunted eyes that saw too much far too soon. Genma's stomach twisted into knots. Damn, he didn't want to leave them like this, but duty called. "Make sure you rest up. You can eat whatever’s in the cupboards.”   


“...Okay, Shiranui-san.”   


Satisfied with that, Genma ducked out the window. Just as he went to leap off the roof, something caught the back of his grey flak jacket and held tight. Genma went for his weapons holster on deeply-ingrained instincts. A kunai sunk four inches deep into the sill by Kotetsu’s hand. The pre-genin stared at the offending weapon pale-faced.

The boys had grabbed him by the uniform.

Sage help him, he could’ve killed them both! “Unless you’re aiming to be six feet under, don’t grab a shinobi like that.”

Kotetsu pouted and Izumo averted his eyes, but their hands remained stubbornly fisted into his flak jacket.  _ Gremlins _ . The thought passed through his mind once more.  _ There’s still some cheekiness in them, somehow.   
_

It was actually quite spectacular to see.   


Biting the inside of his cheek, Genma looked back at them. “What is it? Whatever’s on your mind needs to be said now or it’ll have to wait until I come back.”   


“Shiranui-san, we just…” Izumo started, only to trail off when his confidence caved. They’d need to work on that. A shinobi doubting themselves was a clear path to an early grave.   


“You’ve got to come back safe, go it?” Kotetsu interjected for his best friend. “We’re not going to forgive you if you don’t.”   


A warm fondness blossomed through Genma’s chest. Damn, they were growing on him already. Turning just enough to catch a glimpse of Izumo and Kotetsu, he shot them a little salute. “Yes, Sir.”   


That warmth stayed with Genma long after he’d met up with Hound and they slipped into the night. Having been partnered for almost a year, they fell silently into formation, with Genma always to Hound’s right, protecting his blind side when his sharingan had to stay closed.   


They flew silently through the trees, footsteps suppressed with a bit of chakra coating the bottom of their sandals -not enough to be detected unless an extremely skilled sensor was nearby. While still in The Land of Fire, it was a calculated risk most often worth taking.   


Genma touched down before springboarding to the next branch. Hound set a swift pace, but one he could keep up with easily enough. They normally travelled in silence, senses keen for potential danger. But tonight felt different,  _ Genma  _ felt different. That warmth remained, making him feel light in a way he hadn’t since Shizune agreed to give their crazy, long-distance relationship a try.   


It was a giddy kind of floating feeling. For the first time since he was a genin, Genma had someone waiting for him at home. He had  _ kids _ depending on him. Maybe that’s what made him break their normal silence, maybe it was genuine curiosity. He didn’t take the time to fully analyze his motivations.   


“Yo Hound, how’s that kid doing? It’s been a week since you dropped him at the hospital, right?”   


Hound was in a three-man squad with him and Chital the night he picked up Iruka Umino’s scent in one of the districts completely destroyed by the Kyuubi. Genma heard briefly about the kid pulling his partner from a rockslide. A debt repaid, a life for a life, Hound had claimed. But, Genma saw how protectively Hound held the kid, the slightest hint of reluctance to pass him over even when medics swarmed and rushed Iruka away.   


Genma noticed these little things (he wasn’t an ANBU for nothing). That type of care went beyond merely repaying a debt. Not that he’d ever point it out to a certain silver-haired ANBU. Genma didn’t feel like dealing with the cold shoulder that would definitely ensue. Hound would flat out deny it anyway.   


And yet still, he’d asked.   


There was the slightest hesitation when Hound jumped from one branch to the next, just enough to show the question caught him off-guard. “He isn’t my responsibility,” came the dismissive response.

Genma quirked a brow beneath his kitsune mask but said nothing else on the subject. This wasn’t the end of his partner’s involvement with Iruka Umino, not if the rumours of him terrorizing shinobi throughout the village in his pursuit of  _ Kakashi _ held any merit.   


Maybe Iruka Umino would make a good friend for Izumo and Kotetsu in the future. 


	3. His Resolve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genma's return sparks some concerning realizations and reactions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emotions are pretty raw in this chapter. Just keep that in mind and take care while reading. <3

It was with sheer force of will Genma swung himself in through the living room window. As soon as his feet hit the floor, a sense of safety flooded through him. Genma’s legs buckled and he dropped like a sac of bricks. The tokubetsu jounin barely managed to catch himself with his arms, his face inches from smashing into the carpet. He ached from head to toe. Every movement made his muscles scream in agonizing protest. Chakra-exhaustion was a _ bitch. _ How did Kakashi deal with this after every damn mission?

Reaching for the kotatsu, Genma used it for support to swing himself back onto his feet. He collapsed almost immediately beneath his own weight. His torso smashed into the kotatsu, upending the heavy oak table with a resounding crash. The sound rang in his head, making Genma groan as he fell on his back.

Well, that hadn’t gone as planned.

His bedroom door banged against the wall, making it groan on its hinges. The door creaked several inches closed from the ensuing momentum. Izumo and Kotetsu stomped down the hall in a panicked flurry. They were at his side by the time Genma managed to push his battered body into a sitting position.

A flare of pride settled in his chest as he caught the glint of kunai being tucked away. They were prepared for an assault, just as shinobi should be. Good, very good. “Hey, Gremlins.” He chuckled, wheezing when it jarred his bruised ribs. Damn, a few might be cracked after all. He knew he should’ve force Kakashi to make a pit stop by Kito’s house.

Pale and trembling, Izumo gingerly pressed a hand to his side. Genma hissed in pain through gritted teeth. Yep, his ribs were definitely cracked, if not broken. “Ko, grab the medical kit from the bathroom, please.”

“Got it.” With a determined nod, Kotetsu pushed the kotatsu back onto its legs, then ran to retrieve Genma’s medical kit.

The tokubetsu jounin silently thanked Chouza-sensei for hammering the importance of keeping medkits stocked into his, Ebisu, and Gai’s thick skulls as genin. It saved his ass more than once. “Look at you taking charge, Izumo,” he teased between shallow breaths. Making light of the situation was all he could do at the moment.

“Yoshino-sensei taught us all emergency first aid.” The pre-genin made quick work of his buckles, undoing arm guards and his ANBU vest. Genma shifted to better get them off, but let Izumo show off his skills. Heck, both kids seemed to know what they were doing.

Kotetsu settled next to his best friend, the first aid kit resting open between them. They both pulled on disposable gloves, the blue ones Shizune recommended. Oh, she’d be so proud to see them using appropriate protection. The thought had him grinning like an idiot. _ Hey, my beautiful Angel, I hope you like kids.  
_

His next letter to her was going to be a doozie.

“Are you hurt anywhere else, Shiranui-san?” Izumo rolled his spandex undershirt up to his armpits. Both boys visibly winched at the assortment of dark bruises littered along his ribs. Genma didn’t have the heart to tell them he’d sustained much worse injuries before. They were already fretting so bad.

It was almost cute.

“Ribs mostly. There's some burns to my feet and legs, but they're already taken care of,” he grunted, trying to keep from jerking as Kotetsu yanked his sandals off none too gently.

“Yoshino-sensei said field dressings are never adequate for long-term healing.” Kotetsu pointed out curtly. Sitting Genma’s sandals aside, the pre-genin unwound the hasty bandage job Kakashi had done for him on their mission.

Genma found himself holding his shirt up while Izumo worked to bandage his ribs and Kotetsu sprayed disinfectant on his burnt feet. Didn’t _ that _ hurt like a bitch? Genma bit the inside of his cheek to keep from cursing. These little ears heard enough over the last few weeks without his colourful language being added to the mix. “Sounds like the kind of sensei you don’t want to cross.”

Hands stilled part way through bandaging his wounds. Two sets of dark eyes looked to each other, then up at him. “When Yoshino-sensei’s teaching, you listen,” Izumo stated simply.

Genma bit down on the senbon wedged between his teeth. A chunin at the Academy was drilling jounin level rank authority into pre-genin. Wasn’t that a scary notion? “Ah, you’ll be well prepared for your graduation exam at least.”

Shrugging, Kotetsu applied some burn cream to the blistered skin around Genma’s ankle. “Yoshino-sensei went on maternity leave in September.”

Izumo rubbed some medical tape over his ribs to keep the bandages in place. “I believe she and Nara-sama have a little boy now.”

Genma almost choked on his senbon. “_ Nara-sama? _ Your Academy sensei is _ Yoshino Nara? _ ” The terrifyingly temperamental wife of their new Jounin Commander, Shikaku Nara, head of the Nara Clan, was teaching at the Academy? That wasn’t scary, it was downright _ terrifying. _ He became fairly familiar with Inoichi Yamanaka and the Naras while under Choza-sensei’s tutelage. The Ino-Shika-Cho came as a trio after all. Yoshino Nara was a commanding, clever woman. She had a way of making those around her both fear and respect her. He’d never met a woman quite like her.

Neither Izumo or Kotetsu seemed aware of exactly how stunning their unintentional reveal was. “That’s her.” Kotetsu pressed a gauze pad around his ankle and started winding the bandaged over the burns. “She’s nice enough, sure likes to give out lots of homework though.”

“It wouldn’t be so bad if you didn’t leave it all to the last minute, Ko.” Izumo pulled Genma’s shirt down, then set about checking his pupil dilation. Shizune really would be proud.

“It’s just so _ boring.” _ Kotetsu pouted but finished securing the wrap around the tokubetsu jounin’s leg.

Genma listened to their banter. His exhaustion slowly wash over him now that his worry was abated. They were fine. He’d made it home in relatively one piece, the boys seemed to be in good spirits. This was great, perfect even. All that fretting for nothing. Damn gremlins had him worried sick the entire mission.

With a sigh, Genma flopped back on the floor, limbs splayed so his newly bandaged foot sank beneath the kotatsu. Izumo and Kotetsu were still dressed in his shirts and shorts. He really needed to take them shopping once he regained some chakra. His eyes slid shut. Two or three days, that should be enough time to get his energy back. Surely they’d be fine pulling up their waistbands that long.

Exhaling deeply, the tokubetsu jounin let some of the tension ease from his shoulders. The kids went quiet as soon as he laid down. He could feel Izumo and Kotetsu’s eyes on him. “Don’t you two start the waterworks again. It’ll take more than a few injuries to bring me down.”

A muffled sniffle was his only response.

Gnawing on his senbon, Genma cracked an eye open. Dang, they were both crying. Seems he wasn’t the only one akin to fretting. “Come on, have a little more faith in me than that. How uncool,” he chuckled.

Izumo fidgeted with his shirt hem and Kotetsu kneaded his hands so tightly into fists, his knuckles turned white.

Ah, maybe they weren’t as fine as he initially thought. How foolish of him to assume just because of the banter. Kids were resilient, but they went through hell the last month. How long had it been since they last felt safe enough too joke with each other? He didn’t want them upset, they deserved a bit of happiness after everything. “These wounds are nothing, I guarantee-”

“Why’re you brushing it off like that?!” Kotetsu suddenly exploded, cutting Genma’s words completely off.

The tokubetsu jounin froze, having to repress every instinct in him that screamed to spit his senbon right through the threat’s throat. And every deeply ingrained notion in that split second saw Kotetsu as a threat. The kid was leaking anger embroiled with Killing Intent. Genma never saw so much rage packed inside such a small person.

Kakashi was a ball of carefully controlled bitterness on the best of days, but this,_this_, was pure, unbridled fury. It was like a switch had been flipped, as if the grinning kid from moments ago was a completely different person. A pre-genin shouldn’t be able to utilize Killing Intent. Where the heck had Kotetsu kept all that anger? How long was it building up?

“Kotetsu,” Genma struggled to pull his aching body back into a sitting position. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to come off that way.” He had to calm the kid down before he brought a whole ANBU platoon down on their heads.

Izumo went pale. He tucked himself against Genma’s side, trembling.

“You can’t do that! It’s _ not _ nothing!” Kotetsu grabbed the first aid kit and flung it at the nearby wall. It shattered on contact, medical supplies and bits of the plastic container dropping to the floor. “Sorry doesn’t make it better!!”

Shit, there went his medical supplies. Genma held up his hands, limbs trembling slightly from the effort it took. With his tank running on empty, he had no other option outside talking the kid down. “I know, I just didn’t want you to worry-”

“That's my job!” Kotetsu yelled, tears quickly building in his eyes. “No one’s gonna give a shit so I’ve gotta! Why do you keep dismissing my feelings?!”

_ Wait, what? _

Where the heck was that coming from? Genma hadn’t spent enough time with the boys to establish any patterns of rapport with either of them yet. “Kotetsu, I haven’t-”

“I’m sorry, Ko!” Izumo wailed and tucked himself almost completely behind Genma. He could feel the kid shaking like a leaf against his back and-

-oh.

_ Oh. _

He wasn’t the catalyst, _ Izumo _ was.

“You were getting hurt to look after me and I didn’t want that!” The words spilled from Izumo in a rapid panic -a flurry of hurried, fearful explanation. “But you’re so stubborn you never listen. I had to do _ something _ !”

“You’re my best friend! I can’t lose you too!!” Screaming, Kotetsu grabbed a zabuton and threw it at Izumo’s head.

Catching the heavy pillow on impulse, Genma used the last of his strength to smack it down atop the kid’s spiky head. _ “Enough!” _ he bellowed, letting a bit of his own Killing Intent leak into the command.

Both boys instantly froze.

Genma huffed, his entire frame shaking from the exertion. He needed to rest, but this was too important to leave hanging. “I know this is going to take a while to sink in but listen to my words: _ I _ give a shit. You’re not alone. You’re both safe. No one will hurt you as long as I’m alive, got it?”

An abrupt silence fell over the room. Both boys stared at him with wide eyes. Then Kotetsu’s face scrunched up and Izumo’s bottom lip began to tremble.

They both burst into tears.

Sighing softly, Genma looped an arm around their shoulders. He flopped back onto the floor, dragging the sobbing kids down with him. They curled into him, one at each side. His injures ribs throbbed in protest, but the tokubetsu jounin ignored the pain. It was an ugly cry. Both boys blubbered like babies, rubbed snot and tears into his uniform blacks until they were shaking, hiccuping messes.

They were so damn broken. How was he supposed to help therm? Where the hell did he start? Genma didn't have a clue. He hugged Izumo and Kotetsu a little closer, the rage in his chest growing a bit more with each sob and hiccup that slipped past trembling lips. He needed more information, techniques, _ something _ to use.

_ It looks like a trip to the library's in store for tomorrow.  
_

When answers were needed, Genma could be found with his nose in a book. The library never steered him wrong. With his ANBU clearance, he had access to some of the more… restricted material. Though the paperwork for the release of classified books was a pain in the ass. If he could help the kids, filling out a few dozen-paged documents would be worth it.

Was he biting off more than he could chew taking Izumo and Kotetsu in? If he didn’t look after them, who would? They already fell through the cracks. Turning them out now would damage them worse. They had so much trauma. Izumo cowered like a beaten puppy and Kotetsu hid a terrifying, raging inferno inside him somehow, somewhere.

He was definitely in over his head.

Maybe Chouza-sensei would have some advice?

Or Raidou, he always knew what to do.

Genma blew some bangs out of his eyes. For now, it was the middle of the night and they were all exhausted. Keeping the boys close, the tokubetsu jounin wiggled the three of the down under his kotatsu and kicked the heater in. The warmth washed over them, chasing away the late autumn chill and loosening tension from taut muscles. Genma rubbed the boys’ backs until they settled, emotionally spent.

“You’re important too, Genma-san,” Izumo mumbled into his shoulder, already half asleep.

"...Mhm." Kotetsu hummed in agreement before dissolving into soft snores.

That warm fondness from before his departure flooded over him stronger than before. _ That's the first time either of them called me Genma. _He grinned like an idiot until the realization hit him. "Aww fuck," he cursed quietly, head dropping back against the floor behind him.

In over his head or not, he'd already gotten attached.


	4. His Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's about time Genma took care of the legalities of taking in two orphans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slight delay on this chapter. I have been trying to finish prep work for the next part of Shinobi Don't Promise. It's taken a lot of research so far. Regardless, I hope my wonderful readers all enjoy this chapter. <3

Approaching the Hokage Tower, Genma flared his chakra in two short bursts. A returning thrum washed over him, permission from the Sandaime Hokage to enter his office. Balancing precariously on the tiled roof, the tokubetsu jounin pulled the window up and slipped silently inside. 

The brim of Hiruzen Sarutobi’s Hokage hat was just visible over the stacks of paperwork littering his desk. The  _ fire _ kanji turned in Genm's direction, evidence his arrival was noticed. “Ah, Genma, for what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit?” 

His appearance must be quite unexpected for the Sandaime. If it wasn’t to receive missions or to report in, Genma avoided the Hokage Tower like the plague. Too many unpleasant memories threatened to overflow whenever he stepped inside. Seeing that desk was a trigger for him - _ a stressor _ as the psychology textbooks he signed out of the library called it. See, the Gremlins weren’t the only ones with mental health issues. Genma ticked one too many boxes for  _ combat fatigue _ and Kakashi was a walking case study for  _ shell shock _ (which was apparently a new name for trauma-induced stress?). He  _ really  _ needed to read more into it.

Thank the Sage he had such a beautiful, intelligent medic-nin for a life partner. Shizune kept sending him excerpts from medical texts, psychology books, and Tsunade-hime’s personal notes of all things. His eyes almost bugged out of his head the first time she set him a page of Tsunade’s neat medic scrawl. Damn if it wasn’t informative though.

After a week of hard research, his lovely angel sent him information on something that helped the Gremlins  _ and  _ himself.

_ Art therapy.  _

Now, Genma has no artistic talent in any capacity- he couldn’t draw, paint, write, play an instrument or sing, he had two left feet where dancing was concerned and sculpted about as well as a left handed toad. But there was something about breaking out some paints with the boys and just  _ going to it _ that felt so liberating, so freeing. 

It provided a much needed outlet for Kotetsu’s rage, Izumo’s uncertainty, and his own lingering feelings of incompetence and guilt. The boys smiled now, they laughed, played, teased each other sometimes too. Everything two eleven-year-olds  _ should  _ be doing. Genma even roped Iwashi and Raidou into trying it with them. If his fellow members of the former Hokage Guard Platoon didn’t benefit from it too, he’d eat his damn senbon. 

Clearing his throat, Genma bowed to the man half hidden behind the precariously teetering paper stacks. “Sorry to bother you while you’re so busy, Hokage-sama, but I was hoping you’d have a minute to talk. It’s kind of important.”

“As long as you don’t mind talking to a pile of papers, my boy, I have all the time in the world.” The Hokage hat dipped slightly, an indication Hiruzen was either signing or reading another document.

The tokubetsu jounin rubbed a hand across his nape. What was the best way to approach this? “Are legal guardianship forms still issued to minor shinobi of qualifying rank?” 

Hiruzen’s chair abruptly scraped across the floor. Genma found himself staring eye-to-eye with the Sandaime Hokage over the top of his paperwork. “What you’re referencing was drafted after the first shinobi world war to care for clan orphans. It's an old law I haven’t heard spoken of in some time, but it is still legally binding.” He drew a deep inhale from his pipe. The smoke wafted between his lips as he spoke, “you're not of a clan, Genma. Why are you asking about it?”

“No particular reason, Hokage-sama.” His senbon clenched between his teeth as he waved off the question.  _ Tread carefully,  _ he reminded himself. Hiruzen was a smart leader, despite the weariness of his years in the position. The last thing Genma wanted was to get shot down before he got all his ducks in a row. The future of two kids hung in the balance after all. “Curiosity mostly. Jounin are able to apply for the legal guardianship of genin, regardless of age, correct?” 

“That is correct.” 

“Is that inclusive of tokubetsu jounin?” 

"There a few instances in my youth were it was allowed depending upon the individual shinobi."

"Would this law encompass pre-genin as well?"

Hiruzen took a long drag from his pipe, smoke slipping past his lips with a soft sigh. “My boy, the game of semantics is far better suited to those much younger than I am.” Those dark eyes sent a shiver down Genma’s spine when they bore unwavering into him. “I’ve grown to appreciate blatant honest in my golden years. Surely you can indulge an old man.”

Genma slapped a hand over his face and bit back a groan. Of course, the Sandaime Hokage saw right through him. There was a reason this man was heralded as the  _ God of Shinobi.  _ “I know these two kids, Academy students actually,” he relented with a sigh. “They lost their families during the- …you know. They just need a place to crash until they graduate and get a few D-ranks under their belts.” The hard edge to Hiruzen’s stare made Genma press on before he could interject. All he had to do was present an argument the Hokage couldn’t logically deny. “The Academy’s already being rebuilt. It’ll be six months tops. They’re off the streets with me at least, they've got a roof over their heads, food and clothes. Having two fewer kids on Konoha’s dime means resources that can be directed to other places. The orphanage is already overflowing anyway and I’m pretty sure one of them was  _ hurt  _ there Hokage-sama, like honeypot mission hurt and-” 

Hiruzen held up a hand to cut off Genma’s urgent ramble. A tense silence fell between them as the Sandaime regarded his subordinate over the top of his paperwork. Genma tried to stay immobile, to exhibit mature professionalism under his leader’s scrutiny, but nerves had a habit of getting in the way. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other several times before Hiruzen capitulated. “Who are the children in question?”

“Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki, Sir. They’re both slated to take the Academy’s graduation exam this coming June.”

Hiruzen straightened up one of the teetering paper piles. “There’s no guarantee they’ll pass the exam.” 

“I’m sure they can do it, they’re both pretty stubborn.” Stuffing his hands into his pants’ pockets, Genma rocked back on his heels. He made genin at ten, he saw no reason his gremlins couldn’t at twelve. “I’ll train them between missions. Think of it as an extra guarantee they'll be ready. Konoha needs all the shinobi she can muster right?” 

The Sandaime Hokage took a deep puff from his pipe, dark eyes studying Genma’s face. Finally, after what felt like hours, he set the pipe aside with a soft sigh. “Are you sure, Genma?”

“Sir?”

“Legalities aside, you’ll be solely responsible for both boys for the near future. I cannot afford to give you leave to adjust. Are you sure you can handle them on top of your missions?” 

Genma opened his mouth, quickly ready to agree. He stopped,  _ really  _ thought about the question, and snapped his jaw shut. He wanted to say  _ yes, of course he could handle it  _ but the rational part of his mind knew nothing about the situation he’d voluntarily put himself into would be easy. The last week had been an utter shitstorm of trial and error. 

Izumo and Kotetsu were traumatized to the point he didn’t know what to do sometimes. Kotetsu's anger turned destructive at times. He'd broken several dishes and the bathroom mirror already. Izumo's nightmares sent him into full-on panic attacks. The kid flinched from his own shadow at times and apologized constantly. In those instances, Genma didn't know how to help them. 

The desire to learn how is what drove him to the library daily. He read every book on psychology he could get his hands on. Maybe if he understood their reactions he'd be better equipped to de-escalate the outbursts before they got out of control? Shizune’s letters were a goldmine of suggestions, theories, and hypothesizes that kept him afloat and determined through the uncertainty. The tokubetsu jounin had no clue what he was doing really.  


Shizune had taken his new wards surprisingly in stride, though it took  _ hours  _ to write that first letter to her.  _ ‘So, I've made you a mother of two, congrats!’  _ Probably wasn’t the best way to break the news. He’d tried for humour and gotten a well-deserved, multi-paged reprimand in return. It had followed quickly by several textbook suggestions and a list of civilian coping techniques to try with Izumo and Kotetsu.

Shizune Kato was an angel, no other way around it. 

So he’d spent the last week recovering from his wounds and researching between poorly managing bouts of rage from Kotetsu and skittish panic from Izumo. The more Genma read the more he realized everyone close to him had broken at some point and haphazardly glued themselves back together. Raidou, Iwashi, Gai, even his beautiful angel and particularly Kakashi, his apathetic ANBU partner. 

Kakashi was a ball of fragmented pieces strung together with a sheer, stubborn force of will. How that kid managed to function as efficiently as he did was a miracle. His ANBU partner was a can of worms Genma was nowhere _near _ready to touch. 

Heck,  _ he  _ was snafued just as badly as his precious people, if not worse. Him trying to help Izumo and Kotetsu was the damaged leading the damned. Genma walked a precariously fine line between caring for the boys and becoming emotionally dependent on them.

But the sad reality was he was those boys’ best shot. 

It was far from ideal, but damn it if Genma hadn’t gotten attached to them. Raidou said he was needed and they needed him! Everyone he loved was working their asses off to keep the village strong, to help rebuild after the Kyuubi’s attack. If Genma couldn’t handle such a small part of that process, what was he doing here?

What had Minato-sama and Kushina-san sacrificed their lives for?

What was Raidou almost killing himself on assassinations for?

Why was Iwashi still sifting through debris for bodies?

_ What were they all protecting? _

Izumo and Kotetsu deserved better than what they experienced. He never wanted to see that lost, haunted look in the eyes of another child again. Genma recalled vividly how dirty and thin they’d been when he first found them. How the gremlins continued to hold this air of awe, disbelief and uncertainty to them. As if he’d start withholding food or affection at any moment. How could he ever do that after holding them while they cried? Or letting them curl into his sides and cling to him while they slept?

Hugging his boys smoothed over some of the deep-seated aches in his own heart. 

He needed Izumo and Kotetsu just as much as they needed him. 

“Genma,” the Hokage’s voice cut through his racing thoughts, dragging him back to the situation at hand. Damn, he must have been silent for too long. “Can you handle Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane on top of your missions?” 

Biting down on his senbon, Genma fought back a frustrated groan. As much as he wanted his affection for the gremlins to be enough, as desperately as he wanted to say  _ yes _ without any hesitation, he knew better. It was too much, too soon to give the definitive answer Sarutobi was expecting. With his heart pounding in his ears, Genma answered honestly. “I can only do my best, Sir.” 

The Hokage’s gaze returned to study Genma’s face. The intensity of those dark eyes on him sent chills coursing down his spine. And then the look passed and Hiruzen smiled softly. “Very well, Genma.” selecting two brown folders from his desk drawer, Sarutobi handed them to the tokubetsu jounin. "Fill these out. If you have them submitted by tomorrow evening, I'll approve your request on a trial basis." 

"Y-yes, Sir!" Genma stammered in disbelief. A giddy sort of excitement mixed with relief welled up in his chest. "I'll get started on the paperwork immediately."

"Don't put the cart before the horse, my boy." The Hokage cautioned sternly. "This is a trial period only. All final decisions on the legal guardianship of Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki will be made in one month's time. We'll assess how the arrangement is proceeding then, understood?"

"Of course," Genma bowed deeply. "Thank you, Hokage-sama.” Not the idealistic outcome he hoped for, but it was a chance. He'd just have to work his ass off with his gremlins to show the Sandaime Hokage staying in his care was most beneficial for the boys.

Genma was sure he could give them a good home if he really tried.


	5. His Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izumo asks Genma some tough questions late one lazy night.

Genma stifled a yawn as he signed the bottom of his latest letter to Shizune. Three weeks had passed since he officially became Izumo and Kotetsu’s legal guardian. Three weeks of heavy trial and error as they worked on developing a new_ normal _ for the three of them -together, as a family. It was the most magnificent, surreal thing he’d ever experienced.

His first paycheck after getting the Sandaime’s stamp of approval went entirely to a new wardrobe for the boys. Each now sported several new outfits and weapon holsters filled with kunai, shuriken, blank scrolls and basic first aid kits. Genma didn’t quite agree with their taste in fashion _ (what kind of self-respecting shinobi-in-training wore neon green, Kotetsu?), _but they weren’t constantly losing their pants any longer so he chalked it up to a win. 

The gremlins opened up to him bit-by-bit about what they experienced during and after the Kyuubi’s attack. It was hesitant and often disjointed information he later had to piece together. Genma never pushed for clarification or more information. Shizune told him not to. He trusted her word when it came to all things medical -mental health included.

(His beautiful angel saved his life, who was he to question her medical expertise?)

So for now, on this rare, mission free evening, they huddled under the kotatsu together -one boy tucked securely on either side of him. Diner with Raidou and Iwashi ended an hour ago. The dishes were done and the extra food stored in the fridge for lunch the next day. With nothing else to do, they sat together in comfortable silence, listening to the radio while Kotetsu read a comic book. 

Genma didn’t have a television. He wasn’t home enough to justify owning one, let alone adding another monthly bill atop is already meagre earnings. ANBU didn’t bank as much money as the normal forces assumed. Maintaining armour and supplies took a massive chunk of his paycheck. The rest went to lodging, clothes, food, amenities, etc. He had a small nest egg left to him by his late sister Tsuru. He added to it when he could, but it never amounted to much. 

At least now it had a purpose. If anything happened to him, the nest egg would be enough to keep Izumo and Kotetsu afloat until they graduated the Academy. Tsuru always thought ahead so he was well taken care of. Genma needed to start doing the same. There were people depending on him.

He was needed.

Izumo and Kotetsu, Raidou and Iwashi, Shizune and Gai. They all counted on him in one way or another. Even Kakashi in his own, quiet way. Genma patched the kid up in the field, saved his ass on missions, carried him chakra-exhausted and unconscious back to Konoha one too many times for them not to trust and rely on each other.

Minato-sama put them together for reasons only he would ever know. They’d both lost their bright, kind Hokage and now Genma had no intention of leaving Kakashi alone. 

Genma lost much in his life, but Kakashi lost _ everything and everyone. _ Genma still had his best friend, his genin teammates, his jounin sensei, Iwashi, Izumo, Kotetsu and Shizune.

Sage bless that beautiful, amazing angel. He loved her so. 

She started sending the boys letters with his own, always one for each of them. Sometimes Izumo or Kotetsu would share the contents. Mostly, they were kept to themselves, a bit of silent connection between his Gremlins and his Angel. 

_ His little family. _

The thought brought a dopey grin to his face. How amazing was that? He always thought of Raidou and his genin team as family. Then Minato-sama, Kushina-san and Iwashi came along and they fit right into his heart like tiny pieces he hadn’t known where missing. 

But Shizune, Kotetsu and Izumo were different. They were _ his _to love, support and cherish. He didn’t come home to an empty house any longer. Izumo and Kotetsu breathed life back into those empty walls. Every struggle, every difficult decision and tough mission suddenly seemed worth it with them in his life. 

Kotetsu sagged against his side with a soft yawn. His eyelids fluttered, the comic book slowly slipping from his lax grip. Wrapping an arm around the pre-genin, the tokubetsu jounin hugged the boy to him. Within minutes, Kotetsu was asleep and snoring lightly. 

Leaning forward onto the kotatsu, Izumo smiled fondly at his best friend. “I haven’t see Ko fall asleep that easily since before… you know.” 

“Yeah, I know.” Genma ruffled the pre-genin’s chocolate brown hair comfortingly. The Kyuubi Attack remained a taboo subject. He let the boys bring it up when they felt comfortable to do so, talking as much or as little about what happened that night as they wanted. He knew they were in a bunker during the attack. It was the aftermath that scarred his Gremlins so. 

“...We went to the Western District when you were on a mission yesterday.” The confession came so suddenly and unexpectedly, Genma couldn’t stop himself from tensing. 

“You _ what?! _Izumo that area hasn’t been cleared for anyone below chunin rank.” Structural damage had collapsed the underground evacuation tunnels. The ground gave way without warning in spots. The desolation spread over a mile. Teams were still digging out remains from the rubble. 

Izumo wrung his hands in his lap. “Our houses were there. W-We just wanted to see if anything was salvageable…” 

_ Fuck, that district was hit the hardest. No one survived the impact. _Genma scrubbed a hand through his hair. His senbon clicked between his teeth when he gnawed on the end. “Damn, Kiddo.”

Izumo turned his face into the tokubetsu jounin’s shirt, shoulders taut and quivering. “We needed to see for ourselves it was really all… _ all gone.” _

Looping his free arm around Izumo’s shoulders, he dropped his head atop that thick, russet hair. "You and Kotetsu have a home here for as long as you want it, okay?"

Chewing on his bottom lip, Izumo clenched his hands into his pyjama pants. "...Have you ever needed to identify a body, Genma-san?"

The tokubetsu jounin's eyes slid shut. A long, heavy sigh slouched his shoulders. That was a loaded question that dug up painful memories he'd rather not revisit. If it was anyone else asking, he'd either evade the topic with a joke or punch them in the face. But this was Izumo. He committed to being honest and open with both his Gremlins when they asked the hard questions. "My elder sister, Tsuru." Shizune's letters always emphasized the necessity of modelling healthy habits and communication for the boys. Pushing the bad things down and ignoring them was counterproductive. Genma couldn't expect them to share if he didn't. "My parents both died in the war when I was small. Tsuru raised me on her own after that. She was a chunin field medic. Got herself captured soon after I made genin. The Kiri nin that tortured her sent body pieces back one at a time. I had to identify each one. We're still not sure what happened to her head."

Dark, widen eyes looked up at him, startled but far too understanding for an eleven-year-old. "We had to identify Ko's mothers after _ it _happened. They were burnt so bad Kotetsu didn’t recognize them at first. M-My dad was never found,” his voice hitched on a sob. A hand raised to clench something hidden beneath his shirt. “All I have left of him is his dog tags.” 

“Shit happens, Kiddo. We’re shinobi, we live hard lives and die young. That’s just the reality of our profession.” The senbon bobbed when Genma clenched his teeth. “I can’t change what happened to you in the past. Hell, it’s an almost guarantee you’ll face worse in the future, especially if you go for chunin and later jounin.” Izumo tensed against him. Genma only held both boys tighter. “That said, I think our short lifespan gives us all the more of a reason to live life to the fullest while we can. My sister always said those corny lines: _ Give it one-hundred percent no matter what you’re doing. Don’t leave regrets. Follow your heart, _etcetera.” 

Izumo pulled the dog tags from inside his shirt, dark eyes fixed on the dulled metal as it dangled between his fingers. “They sound more idealistic than corny to me, Genma-san.” 

“Perhaps,” Genma agreed with a shrug. “Tsuru was always a _ glass half full _ kind of person.”

“It’s a nice sentiment.”

“It’s a better nindo.” 

Rubbing his thumb gently over the dog tags, Izumo tucked them back inside his sleep shirt. “Do you have any regrets, Genma?” 

The tokubetsu jounin’s eyes slid closed against the onslaught of painful memories that question dredged to the surface of his mind. His chest constricted tightly. Every single person he’d ever failed was a regret he could never rectify. Swallowing hard around the growing lump in his throat, Genma murmured softly, “so, so many.” 

Izumo made a small sound in the back of his throat Genma couldn’t quite place. In the end, his regrets, his nindo, his beliefs, none of them truly mattered. He laid his values like pieces before the boys, but it was their job to fit those pieces into the puzzle of their own lives. The picture Izumo and Kotetsu came out with in the end was theirs and theirs alone. Whatever influences they pulled from along the way were just that, influences. All he could do was support them to the best of his abilities.

This was just the beginning of Izumo and Kotetsu’s journey. 

Genma could only hope he’d get to see where it took them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is all she wrote for this little side story to the larger Shinobi Don't Promise universe. I'm planning a few other side stories to better expand the world and give the side characters a spotlight.
> 
> Which idea would you all be interested in seeing next:  
1) A one-shot about Ibiki and Raidou raising Idate (with potential smut).  
2) The botched Tenzo rescue mission Kakashi lost his fingers on.  
3) Inoichi-sensei finds love in the stranges of places.  
4) A look at Izumo, Kotetsu and Iruka's mothers in their prime. 
> 
> Let me know. <3


End file.
